A home bar is one thing that most adults should have in their homes. Even if you’re not a drinker yourself, you should have something on hand to offer guests when they come over for an evening of food and conversation. You’ll need the right setup, the right tools, and the right recipes handy to have the perfect home bar. Whether you have a bar already or are looking to build your own, we have all the tips that you’ll need as a rookie bartender.

The Essentials

You’ll need quite a few essentials in your home bar including but not limited to:

Glasses

Bitters

Bar tools

Recipe books

Spirits

Mixers

Garnishes

Find The Right Surface To Transform Into A Bar

You can easily transform any table, sideboard, or cart into a bar. If the vessel that you’re using has a drawer, that’s even better. You can keep all of your bottles, glasses, decanters, and openers in one convenient place. It’s not bad if you can’t fit all of your supplies in one place. Less used items can be stored in the pantry.

You can even use a simple bookshelf to store all of your bar supplies. Transform any bookcase from “boring bookshelf” to home bar in no time. You can arrange the shelving by category, giving each shelf a purpose. You can keep spirits on one shelf, glasses on another shelf, tools on another, and recipe books on another shelf.

Does Your Home Have An Actual Bar Built-In?

Many homes actually have bars built in, but people rarely use them because they feel inexperienced in using the bar tools of the trade. Whether you have a full wet bar or a simpler dry bar, keep all of the essentials there. You’ll need:

Bar towel

Trash can

Glasses

Decanter

Bar spoon

Strainer

Shaker

Access to ice

Juice

Sodas

Juicer

Limes

Lemons

Jigger

Simple Syrup

Old fashioned glass

Peeler

Mesh strainer

Location Of The Bar

If you’re setting up a brand new bar, there’s a variety of places that you can put the bar. If you have space in the kitchen, you can add it to a corner right there. Other great places for your bar could be a den or a man cave. Wherever you’ll spend time hanging out with company is a good place to keep your bar. If you have children, you might even consider getting a locking cabinet system for your liquor. You don’t want little hands getting into what they’re not supposed to.

Setting up your own home bar is something to be proud of. It will be quite the conversation piece when guests come over. You’ll be able to discuss your collection of liquors and see if friends have any recommendations as to what you might add to your selection of liquors. A home bar is an entertaining essential.

Summer time is just about everyone’s favorite season and therefore, favorite time of the year. It brings warm weather, beach days, and more daylight. Whether you live near the water or in the center of your state, you can still bring the summer inside. Let’s take a look at some fun and simple summer decorating ideas.
Flowers: Fresh flowers are an easy but beautiful way to bring life into your home. Add them to beach themed vases for an extra touch of summer.
Beach/Nautical Themed Accessories: Items like a table runner, shell vase, sand centerpieces, blue and white or red and white striped candle holders, lantern candleholders are all accessories that embody summer and adding them into your home will only enhance that happy feeling that you only feel in the summer.
Window Treatments: Changing out heavy, dark window treatments for lighter and brighter ones will add a new pop of color to your home and a brighter, summery feel.
Accent Pillows: Accent pillows add to the décor of your home. Adding accent pillows with bright flowers or with a nautical/beach theme are a great way to bring that summer feel inside.
Striped Pieces: Adding décor with stripes is one of the easiest ways to add a touch of summer to your home. Choose navy or red stripes to make it feel even more nautical like.
Outdoor Dining: Outdoor dining screams summer. It means cookouts and dinner under the stars. You don’t need to have expensive furniture or event furniture that matches; any outdoor seating and a table will work.
String Lights: These are a great way to add decorative lighting to outdoor spaces, mantles, above or around doors, etc.
Adding summery décor to the home doesn’t need to break the bank. And it can completely transform your home from the look it has during the fall and winter. Adding different colors and patterns to the home is a great way to rejuvenate the home after a long winter.

There are many benefits to living in a simple and minimal environment. Lack of clutter helps us focus and boosts our mood. Have you ever sat down at your desk at work or in your home office and felt like you just couldn't get any work done and started tidying up instead? It might be a good idea to listen to that impulse and make your work environment a more productive place. In this article we're going to give you some tips for making your home office a distraction-free, minimal sanctuary. At the same time, these tips will be low cost--minimalism and frugality go hand in hand after all.

Why minimalism?

If you're the type of person who lives in a "well-organized mess" and is able to function highly in this environment, maybe you don't need to strip things down. Or, if you feel the most comfortable in a busy room and are able to get more work done this way, maybe the busy and cozy office environment works for you.
However, the majority of people don't fit that description. We tend to do our best work when we have only the necessities at had. Having a minimal home office has numerous benefits. Aside from helping you focus and adding a spacious, pleasant atmosphere to the room, minimalism can help your room look more updated and modern (increasing the value of your home), and can help you save money once you start making only the most useful purchases for your home office.

Your office as a workshop

If you work on cars in your garage and nothing else, you'll probably only want to fill your garage with the right tools for the job. This is also true for your home office.
We have a tendency of putting old and extra furniture and decorations from our house into the less frequented rooms, like a home office. Look around your office. Has it become a storage room for old pillows, lamps, or furniture? If so, this is your chance to get rid of some items to clear up the room.
Unlike your garage, the tools for the job needed in your home office have been extremely cut down thanks to technology. Among the items that laptops and smartphones have made obsolete:

When you have kids, it’s difficult to keep a spotless home. Your home will undoubtedly be “lived in,” as the saying goes. There’s ways that you can keep nice things and make those things accident-proof and kid-proof at the same time. Kids can spill things, cause dirt build-up, and even sustain minor injuries from certain pieces of furniture.
Slip Covers Work Wonders
Slip covers are really amazing assets to any home with children. Most of these covers are washable. You can fit them tightly around your furniture for a smooth look. Guests won’t even know that you’re using slip covers! The bonus is that you’ll be able to keep your nicer furniture fresh and clean.
Substitute The Coffee Table
Instead of a coffee table, try an ottoman with a new purpose. Ottomans will help keep kids from hurting themselves on the sometimes sharp corners of the coffee table. It will also give you somewhere to prop your feet up after a long day. This tactic will save you from the grief of many bumped heads, since ottomans are soft. You can use your ottoman to place books and other items on and around.
Showcase An Art Wall
Dedicate a space for kids’ art. This will make for a colorful addition to your home and give the sense to guests that your home is indeed family friendly. It’s also just plain fun to showcase the art that your children create. It will give the kids a sense of pride and joy! Whether it’s a wall or a hallway, this idea is always perfect for a home with kids.
When In Doubt, Buy Washable
There are plenty of things that come in washable form from throw pillows to paint. Some sofas even come with removable, washable cushion covers. These will all be a blessing to you when cleaning up after your children.
Incorporate Extra Storage
With all of the extra toys around your home, you’ll need extra storage to keep them in. Think about using pretty storage pieces like baskets, which are easy for kids to manage and easy for you to store.
While your home won’t need to be childproof forever, doing it now will save you from ruining expensive things. However, if there’s items that you really love, don’t sacrifice. Take the safety measures and precautions that you feel are necessary and don’t worry about the rest. A house is meant to be lived in. Remember that it’s not a museum!

Does your house need a new look? Do you think changing the look will take too much time or money? Using small changes can often have a big effect.
Here are some low-effort and low-cost ideas that can quickly transform your space:
1. Switch out lampshades and/or finials or change a chandelier
2. Reframe or rearrange artwork
3. Have favorite photos printed on canvas and hang them front and center
4. Swap throws and/or pillows
5. Change a rug or pull it up to expose hardwood or tile floors
6. Take out "high-hat" light in living room for a more ambient atmosphere
7. Give your bookcase a makeover
8. Clear the clutter
9. Switch out bar stools
10. Change drawer knobs and/or cabinet handles
11. Put new towels and/or mats in the bathroom
12. Add a hanging pot holder in the kitchen
13. Sew a fabric band to bottom of shower curtain
14. Change the draperies
15. Add flowers or plants
16. Add accessories like vases, sculptures, candles or photos
17. Lean your artwork rather than hanging it for a way to easily move it later
18. Change slipcovers
19. Use sisal rugs, which are inexpensive and in style
20. Put a decorative plate or bowl in the corners of kitchen counters (where tile meets wall) to increase flow and tie a space together